Southwest Airlines puts the East Bay first with new transcontinental flight to Newark/New York City

New summer service answers the call for nonstop flights to OAK’s top unserved market

Press Releases, Airport

January 5th, 2017

Oakland, CA – Jan. 5, 2017: Together with Southwest Airlines, officials at the Port of Oakland announced today that effective June 4th, 2017 the carrier will commence daily nonstop service from Oakland International Airport to Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey, serving metropolitan New York City.

The transcontinental flight will be a significant time-saver for the hundreds of daily travelers that begin or end their journey in the East Bay. Currently, travelers from OAK must make a flight connection or depart from other Bay Area airports for a nonstop flight to Newark. The route to Newark is OAK’s largest unserved market, and it will complement existing Southwest Airlines one-stop service to three of the New York Metropolitan Area’s airports: Newark/New York, New York La Guardia and Long Island/Islip.

Southwest is adding the new flight to the Summer 2017 schedule on the heels of recent successful launches to two other cross country destinations including Baltimore/Washington DC (BWI) and Atlanta. With Newark, Southwest will serve 28 airports nonstop from OAK to destinations coast to coast and to Mexico. The company bases over 2,600 employees at the San Francisco Bay Area airport making this its largest base in California and the second largest private company employer in the City of Oakland.

Southwest previously announced international service from OAK to popular Mexican Riviera destinations Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta beginning February 12th, 2017.

It will operate 122 peak day departures from OAK during Summer 2017. Southwest Cargo service is offered on all flights. Southwest Airlines carries more customers to and from the San Francisco Bay Area than any other airline and most of its customers fly to/from OAK.

Airport officials calculate that over 650 Bay Area to Newark passengers each way, per day have a true origin or destination point in the East Bay. Port of Oakland Aviation Director Bryant L. Francis said “Southwest continues to have East Bay customers top of mind – be they from Oakland, Berkeley, Walnut Creek or San Ramon, just to name a few communities - as it adds more nonstop destinations from OAK thereby reducing peak hour, Transbay roadway and rail traffic. Just as we’ve seen the positive results from other recently added Southwest flights from OAK, as well as our expanded schedule of service to Hawaii and Europe, it’s a real time saver for the majority of Bay Area travelers when they can use OAK, the airport that is close by and long known for its operational reliability.”

Both Oakland International and Newark Liberty have convenient air-rail connections. OAK has a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) system station at the terminal and Newark Liberty’s terminals are connected to New Jersey Transit by Air Train. Both airports also have direct rail connections to Amtrak.

The flight from Newark will depart at 5:35 PM (EST) arriving at Oakland at 9:00PM (PST). From Oakland the flight will depart at 3:50 PM, arriving at EWR just after midnight at 12:10AM. On board, WiFi is offered along with complimentary live television and the option to purchase movies for viewing on personal electronic devices.

About Oakland International Airport

Oakland International is the fourth busiest airport in California and second busiest in the San Francisco Bay Area. Serving over 12 million travelers annually, OAK is the closest airport to the region’s top tourism and entertainment venues. It is also the closest airport for most local residents.

Oakland’s air service roster to over 60 destinations is scheduled on 13 different airline brands – seven of which operate with OAK as their sole gateway into the San Francisco Bay region.

The vision of Oakland International Airport is to offer customers a world-class experience and be the airport of choice for Bay Area residents and visitors alike. OAK is operated by the Port of Oakland, which also oversees the Oakland Seaport and 20 miles of waterfront. Together with its business partners, the Port supports more than 73,000 jobs in the region and nearly 827,000 jobs across the United States.